Don't forget ancient pirates...

In the bronze age, societies often lived through 'raiding' only... rather than boarding other ships in ship to ship combat, these pirates would amass fleets of single-decked ships, land near an undefended village or city, loot it, then return home. Many scholars believe that the epic poem "The Illiad" is a loose depiction of the atmosphere that existed in these raiding cultures.

It should also be noted that, three thousand years ago, survival through raiding was not considered evil. rather than beng seen as a scoundrel, a man who could assemble a fleet of a hundred rowed ships and use them to sack a town was considered a man of bravery and prowess... Just look at the mores and attitudes of the heros in the Illiad and Odyssey.

Rather than just being destructive, these ancient raiders eventually laid down the first western states and formed the first western governments.

Even medieval and early modern pirates contributed to society... their actions provoked the formation of the modern banking system, where paper is given value, as opposed to a system where only metals had 'value'.

The history of the US has also been shaped by pirates... many of the first american settlements started out as pirate bases.

In the long-run, pirates often end up expanding the horizons of their civilization, through exploration, rogue military action, and unhindered capitalism. No, I'm not saying that murder and robbery are great things, just that, at the frontier of any civilization that is still virile and expanding, you will find 'pirate' characters pushing the limits... in the same light, I wonder if the modern day equivalent of pirates -- corporations -- will eventually be the force that will colonize the solar system.

[Edited on 9-6-2003 by onlyinmydreams]

Is it likely that the Skull and Bones soceity is somehow connected to the pirates that flew these so-called "Jolly Rogers"???

Can we assume that this is so???

Or is it just a coincidence???

I have thought that something fit when relating the two.

I often look back at Thomas Jefferson's policy towards the pirates of the day and wonder if there is some peculiar reasons for this likely connection.

I figure that these pirates of the Barbary Coast were intended to destablilize the new growing States of America. The pirates sure did do some damage, but can we say that the pirates were pawns of another system? Maybe the British Government for example.

What are your thoughts and what can you tell us about these connections???